Friday, January 20, 2012

Coming for the Internet

The newest governmental attack against its citizens (on the behalf of its buddies at Hollywood) is aimed at the internet. Surprise, surprise.

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and its fellow, the Protect IP Act (PIPA) are two bills currently being debated in congress and halls of internet wisdom. Their stated purpose is to curb online infringement upon intellectual property. Pending these bills, sites like Megaupload have been shut down.

Because, obviously, online piracy is so much more important than a balanced budget and dealing with an escalating sense of dissatisfaction with our foreign policy. Definitely more important.

There is a lot of fear that these bills would potentially shut down sites like Youtube, Wikipedia, and Tumblr, along with lesser-known sites like Fanfiction.net. In effect, the bill would take out legitimate sites just so Hollywood can make a bit more dough, and leave a bunch of people out in the cold as they find their online lives empty. (Doesn't that sound pathetic?)

On Wednesday, Wikipedia led a blackout protest that shut their sites and several others down for the day--I know my Tumblr blog was blacked out for the day--and a massive caller campaign began, people sending letters and calling their representatives and senators. (It's satisfying to note that the Congressional support for the bill has since dropped. Apparently they're realizing that if they pass it, the next civil war will be led by teenagers who have never seen the light of day.)

Just one more way the government wants to dictate to us. Silly people--thinking they can act like China and get away with it.

Hollywood power is not the purpose of SOPA and PIPA. In either bill Hollywood hasn't been given the sole "button."

Communism establishes citizens as informants. These un-deputized informants are required to push the "button" (report) on any suspected violator, or any suspected association to a violator, of the laws of the government. That is what makes these bills communist, rather than merely statist.

It creates a community of distrust. Your neighbor will report you to the government, before you can report him. The "blackouts" are instant: You are guilty until proven innocent.

Communist societies did make use of that tactic, yes, but so did fascist communities. And our benevolent near-fascist government has been urging people to report on their neighbors for quite awhile.

I think that America is heading towards a new fusion of statism. It will combine the righteous cause mindset of fascism with the pure brutality of communism, yet with the veneer of a velvet glove that has made corporatist systems so effective.

I know much more about SOPA than I do PIPA. It is certainly good that SOPA has been defeated (at least it seems so for now). I need to research PIPA more but from what I have read on that legislation it is more targeted at places like China where people are committing crimes of piracy. I definitely agree that Congress should be focusing on more pressing issues.

About the Author

I am an 18 year old libertarian, Texan, and constitutionalist. I spend most of my time writing novels and discussing issues with people online. Until such time as that changes and I get a life, you're probably going to be subjected to my thoughts.